Layoffs loom for Stewart's 105th Airlift Wing

STEWART AIRPORT — The New York Air National Guard told 71 members of the 105th Airlift Wing on Tuesday that their jobs are being eliminated come March.

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By MICHAEL RANDALL

recordonline.com

By MICHAEL RANDALL

Posted Oct. 3, 2012 at 2:00 AM

By MICHAEL RANDALL
Posted Oct. 3, 2012 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

STEWART AIRPORT — The New York Air National Guard told 71 members of the 105th Airlift Wing on Tuesday that their jobs are being eliminated come March.

The layoffs are because of the unit's switch in missions from flying C-5As to the newer C-17s.

The C-17s are smaller and thus require fewer crew members to staff and maintain them.

Eric Durr, a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs, said the 105th will have 219 fewer staffers by the end of March.

The 105th has about 1,200 employees. Of those, 643 are full-time, and 424 of them will remain.

The other 148 workers affected by the reduction in force already have taken steps such as transferring to another air wing in New York, applying for vacancies in units outside the state, or retiring.

The 219 employees are all full-timers. Many are technicians with dual status who work as civilians during the week and as military personnel during training weekends.

A source in the 105th's maintenance division, who has spoken previously to the Times Herald-Record about the layoffs on the condition that he not be named, said the notices were given to those with the lowest scores on their annual job performance appraisals.

Durr said there has been "plenty of notification" and other efforts to assist employees facing layoffs, including retraining opportunities, job fairs, publicizing openings in and outside the state, and webinars.

There was no legal requirement for the six-month notices issued Tuesday.

"It's just the New York Air National Guard trying to be proactive, trying to be a good employer," Durr said.

The switch to C-17s has been described by military officials and others as a necessity to ensure the 105th remains a vital part of the Air Force.

The C-5As, which the unit was already flying when it was transferred to Stewart Air National Guard Base in 1985, date back to the late 1960s.

The oldest C-17s in the Air Force fleet are only 20 years old.

Their smaller size gives them more flexibility: They can land and take off on shorter runways. They also require a minimum crew of only three — two pilots and a loadmaster — but 105th officials told the Record earlier this year they plan to have as many as five or six on most flights.